021 Qin Lan: How did you know today was my birthday?

Inside and outside the city, the air was filled with the sounds of battle.

Yuwen Huaji, clad in his dragon robes, looked panic-stricken as he turned to Yuwen Chengdu. "Chengdu, the rebel army has broken through! What are we to do?"

Yuwen Chengdu, also visibly rattled, heard the shouts growing louder. He grabbed two guards by their collars with a fierce expression. "I will go and hold them off. You two, protect my father and leave at once."

With that, Yuwen Chengdu strode out, while Yuwen Huaji reached out with trembling hands, crying out, "Chengdu! Chengdu!"

...

"Good, cut."

Director Hu Mingkai called out. Yan Li, who had just stepped out of the palace set, walked over specifically. "Thank you, Director Hu."

Hu Mingkai smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Think nothing of it. You played that well."

This particular scene was not in the original script. However, because Yan Li had intentionally developed some father-son dynamics with Yang Shulin, the actor playing Yuwen Huaji, they had successfully portrayed a relationship of "benevolent father and filial son" between the Yuwen pair. Given this, when they reached the point of their exit, Yan Li and Yang Shulin had convinced the director to add this extra scene.

Though it was brief, the act of stepping forward to block the enemy and protect his father at the brink of life and death elevated the character of Yuwen Chengdu just a notch. Moreover, such a change didn't deviate from the character's essence. Firstly, the groundwork laid by Yan and Yang had already established a clear motivation for their close bond. Although Yuwen Chengdu was a bully who picked on the weak and was cruel and lecherous, he had never faltered at critical moments—he had saved Yang Guang and Yuwen Huaji before; it was simply that as a villain, his virtues were overshadowed by the protagonists. Secondly, the scene was designed so that Yuwen Chengdu wasn't planning a fight to the death; his lines and actions clearly indicated he was merely stalling for time before finding an escape route. After all, even if his capabilities in this adaptation were inferior to the original, he remained a top-tier warrior; if he wanted to run, few could stop him. It was just that his luck would run out later when he encountered Li Yuanba, who was specifically hunting him for a "duel," leading to his demise.

After chatting with Director Hu for a moment, Yan Li saw that the director was busy and discreetly took his leave. With today’s filming finished, Yan Li had no further tasks for the day; the upcoming scenes involved the various rebel kings vying for the imperial seal. Yan Li still had one scene left—his death at the hands of Li Yuanba—which depended on the production's scheduling for location shots. It would likely be tomorrow or the day after. Once he was "killed" by Li Yuanba, his work on *The Legend of the Sui and Tang Heroes* would officially wrap.

Back in the dressing room, Wang Xiu helped him remove his makeup, asking as she worked, "When is your ticket?"

Yan Li was flipping through a magazine, engrossed. "The day after tomorrow, or perhaps the one after that."

Wang Xiu looked downcast, her tone aggrieved. "Once you leave, I won't have anyone left to talk to."

Yan Li felt goosebumps rise on his arms. "Cut the crap, will you? If you keep acting like this, I'll beat you up, and Da Liu from the photography crew won't be able to stop me."

Wang Xiu was startled. "How did you know Da Liu likes me? I haven't told a soul... Was it that bitch Shasha?"

Yan Li chuckled. "Give me a cool hairstyle today, trim my eyebrows, and let me use those high-end cosmetics of yours, and I'll tell you."

"Tch." Wang Xiu acted dismissive, but once she finished removing his makeup, she obediently shaved his beard, trimmed his eyebrows, pampered his skin, and meticulously styled his hair. Since Yan Li was doing a period drama, his hair was cut short.

Wang Xiu was skilled at styling. She shaved the sides and back, creating layers on top. With Yan Li’s sharp, angular features, the look added a touch of ruggedness and wildness to his existing masculine aura, exuding pure manliness.

"Perfect!" Wang Xiu looked at Yan Li in the mirror, very satisfied. "If you ever can't make a living, call me. I know a few rich ladies and aunties from my freelance gigs who love tough guys like you."

Yan Li forced a smile. "I'm so grateful to you."

After changing into his own clothes, Yan Li headed out. Wang Xiu called after him, "You still haven't told me how you knew!"

Yan Li tapped his temple. "Intuition."

Wang Xiu was furious. "I'm going to introduce you to the ugliest, oldest women I can find!"

***

Back at the small inn from the dressing room, Yan Li changed into clothes he had just bought in Hengdian, looking clean and sharp, and headed downstairs. He took a walk around the Hengdian pedestrian street before heading to the restaurant he suspected of having "questionable" food safety to reserve a table. Though he had his doubts about the hygiene, the ambiance and taste were decent, perfect for hosting a dinner.

Next, Yan Li went to the hotel where Qin Lan was staying and called her.

"Are you at the hotel?"

The phone carried Qin Lan's pleasantly surprised voice: "I am. What's up?"

"Come down. I'm taking you to dinner."

"Oh... okay... give me five, no, ten minutes."

Yan Li checked the time and, drawing on experience, found a place to sit and lit a cigarette to wait. It was naive to think "ten minutes" from a woman meant just ten minutes. Sure enough, nearly half an hour later, Qin Lan emerged, wearing a black slim-fit dress, clutching her handbag.

"Kept you waiting, something came up last minute."

Yan Li glanced at her hair, not yet fully dry, and her full face of makeup. He wisely didn't ask what had happened and simply said, "Let's go. I've already booked the table."

Yan Li slowed his pace to accommodate Qin Lan, who was wearing mid-heeled sandals. She asked with interest, "What made you think of taking me to dinner today? And dressed so handsomely, too."

Yan Li explained, "You complained that I didn't invite you to the send-off dinner, so I'm making it up to you."

"Just because of that?" Qin Lan, who had been beaming, looked slightly disappointed at the answer.

Yan Li didn't say much. Once they reached the restaurant and were seated, he gestured toward the birthday cake he had bought on the street earlier and smiled. "And, while we're at it, to celebrate your birthday."

Beside him, Qin Lan saw the cake and covered her mouth in excitement, her beautiful eyes shimmering with moisture. A moment later, she playfully swatted his arm and pouted. "You're annoying, is it fun to trick me?"

Yan Li laughed radiantly. "You have to build the suspense to make the surprise even better."

Qin Lan rolled her eyes at him, then began to examine the cake with great interest, her eyes full of smiles. She clearly loved it, but soon couldn't help but sigh. "I don't have a camera, otherwise I'd take a picture."

"Do you know what it means to be prepared?" Yan Li snapped his fingers, walked to the counter, and retrieved a Sony digital camera he had stowed there in advance.

Qin Lan was both surprised and delighted. She took the camera. "Where did you get this?"

"A lot of pleading plus a few packs of Yuxi cigarettes; the set photographer agreed to lend it to me for the night." Yan Li explained, then cautioned, "Be careful with it. This thing is expensive. If you drop it and break it, my last month of work will have been for nothing."

"Don't worry." Qin Lan replied, then excitedly pulled Yan Li to take photos. First, she posed with the cake, then photos of her blowing out the candles, followed by asking the owner to take a group photo of her and Yan Li. After dozens of shots, they finally stopped.

As he put the camera away, Yan Li called the owner over to order. "I'll figure it out when I get back—whether to print the photos and mail them to you or email them."

"Mhm."

After the photos, Qin Lan was in a wonderful mood. As she ate the cake Yan Li had cut for her, her eyes were fixed on him, and her voice was softer and sweeter than usual. "How did you know today was my birthday?"

Not even the crew of *My Fair Princess III* knew her birthday well; she didn't understand how Yan Li had known.

Yan Li remained calm. "You told me yourself."

"When did I say that?"

"The first time we ate here, when we talked about our ages, you mentioned you were born on July 17, 1979. I just remembered."

"Did I?" Qin Lan was dazed. They had indeed talked about their ages, but she didn't recall mentioning the specific date. Well, perhaps she had forgotten. Regardless, the fact that Yan Li had remembered a casual remark and had taken the initiative to carefully prepare a birthday celebration for her made her heart feel sweet.

Seeing that Qin Lan believed him, Yan Li quietly took a bite of cake. He had actually forgotten whether she had mentioned it or not; he only remembered she was born in '79. As for how he truly knew, it was thanks to the Intelligence System.

[Intelligence System X: Today, July 17th, is Qin Lan's 23rd birthday... Far away from home filming alone, no one knows it is her birthday. Qin Lan feels lonely and deeply longs for someone to celebrate with her...]

They were friends, after all. Yan Li couldn't just ignore that wish.